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\nPEOPLE has an exclusive first look at Leah Rowan’s upcoming thriller inspired by PsychoMarion offers a captivating alternate take on the horror classic where the iconic victim fights backThe book “is an ode to all the women characters that had to die, pigeonholed to mere plot points, in countless books and movies through the years,” the author says<\/p>\n
What if Marion Crane wasn’t killed by Norman Bates at the beginning of Alfred Hitchcock<\/a>‘s Psycho? That’s the inspiration behind Leah Rowan’s alternate take on the horror classic, the upcoming thriller Marion<\/a>.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Ahead of its release next summer, PEOPLE has the exclusive first look at the cover for the anticipated new book<\/a>, which explores what happens when the leading lady doesn’t die \u2014 and instead, fights back.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n “Marion <\/a> is an ode to all the women characters that had to die, pigeonholed to mere plot points, in countless books and movies through the years. It\u2019s a question that came to me (in the shower, of all places): What if the most famous silver-screen victim of all time never died at all? What if she could hold fate, and a knife, in her hands?” Rowan tells PEOPLE.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Cover of ‘Marion’ by Leah Rowan.<\/p>\n St. Martin’s Press<\/p>\n In Hitchcock’s 1960 adaptation of Robert Bloch’s 1959 novel, Marion was famously played by Janet Leigh<\/a> in the opening act of the movie. The character is on the run after stealing money from her employer in order to help pay off her boyfriend’s debts. After she’s forced to stay the night at the Bates Motel, she’s stalked and eventually stabbed to death in the shower<\/a> by its proprietor, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins<\/a>).\n<\/p>\n In Rowan’s take on the story, Marion turns the knife on Norm, kicking off a crime spree that turns the silver screen victim into a heroine for modern times.\n<\/p>\n More specifically, according to the publisher, after stealing money from a Manhattan ad agency where she works in an attempt to help her sister escape an abusive relationship, Marion finds herself stranded on her way to Saratoga Springs, N.Y.\n<\/p>\n Author Leah Rowan.<\/p>\n Rengim Mutevellioglu<\/p>\n Paying cash for a room at an old set of cabins on the outskirts of town, Marion encounters a handsome and charming young innkeeper, Norm Billings, who later tries to attack her while she’s taking a shower.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n “When the curtain is pulled back … Norm is there with a knife,” the publisher’s description continues. “He raises his arm to strike, but before he does, Marion knees him in the balls, grabs the knife and stabs the life out of him. Now, she’s covered in blood, and she’s a woman on the run \u2014 not just a thief, but a killer, too. Where will she go? How will she save both herself and her sister? And what mysteries will she uncover as she does?”\n<\/p>\n Set for a June 2026 release, Marion offers a captivating alternate history for the most iconic victim of the silver screen. “I\u2019m so excited for readers to meet this version of Marion and hopefully love her as much as I do,” Rowan tells PEOPLE.\n<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/p>\n